Until recently, door handle assemblies for vehicles have been principally mechanical devices, which require a handle portion, which is coupled to a latching mechanism, to be rotated or pivoted to either latch or unlatch the latching mechanism to open the door of the vehicle. For example, some door handle assemblies include a strap type handle, which pivots about one end of the handle. The pivoting end of the handle is coupled to a latch mechanism, for example by a cable or a linkage, which is actuated by the pivoting of the handle. Other door handle assemblies include a paddle type handle, which is mounted to a pivotable shaft, for example, in a recessed portion of the door, with the shaft being coupled to the latch mechanism, which is actuated by the pivoting of the shaft. Other styles include tailgate assemblies, including T-shaped handles that rotate about their central axis to latch or unlatch the latch mechanism. Typically, these door handle assemblies are fabricated as a unitary assembly and attached to the door. In addition, a key has been typically required to lock or unlock the latching mechanism.
Typically, handle assemblies, such as strap handle assemblies, are constructed to be lightweight, yet strong and durable. The material selected for the handle portion is thus typically an engineering plastic or the like. In order to reduce the amount of material in the handle, so as to reduce the weight and cost of the handle, the handle portion may be a hollow handle. The handle may be hollowed by a gas injection process during molding of the handle, whereby gas is blown into the mold with the plastic material, such that the inner plastic fill material is blown out of the mold through an opening or hole. This creates a cavity within the handle to reduce the amount of material required to form the handle and, thus, the weight of the handle, and to reduce the possibility of sinks or other flaws in the handle which may otherwise occur when a portion of the handle is too thick, since the outer portion may cool faster than the inner portion.
More recently, some vehicles have incorporated electrical components, which provide a key-less locking and/or unlocking device. The locking device may be operable in response to a keypad at the door or a key fob carried by a driver or passenger of the vehicle. Passive entry systems have also been developed that are responsive to approach by a driver of the vehicle (for example, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,367,295; 6,075,294; and 6,218,933, the entire disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein), whereby the system detects a signaling device held or carried by the approaching driver and automatically unlocks the door or doors of the vehicle. Such locking devices and systems function in connection with an antenna placed at the vehicle. The antenna may receive a signal from a remote device and operate a locking system or other system of the vehicle in response to the signal. Such antennas take many forms, such as an antenna formed by wire windings wrapped around a core or former element. The antenna may be any acceptable antenna means and may comprise wire windings or other types of antennas, such as carbon antennas, tracks on a printed circuit board or other substrate material or the like. The antenna includes a connection or terminal, such as a pigtail connection or the like, at an end of the wiring for connection to the device. These antennas are typically placed within the vehicle to detect a signal from any direction around the vehicle. Use of such an antenna allows the locking device to be adapted to permit remote unlocking of the vehicle, which is particularly useful in extreme weather conditions or in low light conditions, especially where safety may be a concern.